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BAGHDAD - Blood-splotches on walls, chains hanging from a ceiling and swords on the killing floor — the artifacts left a disturbing tale of brutalities inside a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq torture chamber. But there was yet another chilling fact outside the dirt-floor dungeon. Villagers say they knew about the torment but were too intimidated by extremists to tell authorities until now.

Stories such as these — claims of insurgent abuses and the silence of frightened Iraqis — have emerged with increasing frequency and clarity recently as U.S.-led forces push deeper into former extremist fiefdoms and forge alliances with tribes seeking to reclaim their regions.

The reports and tips now pouring in build a harrowing portrait of rule under al-Qaida and its backers: mass graves, ruthless punishments, self-styled Islamic courts ordering summary executions.

Such a lead brought soldiers earlier this month to the hidden room in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday. Graffiti on the building proclaimed "Long Live the Islamic State" — a reference to the Islamic governance, or caliphate, sought in Iraq by Sunni extremist groups that include al-Qaida.

Scrawled in white paint above a bed in the torture area was a Quranic phrase in Arabic normally used to welcome a guest. But the context suggested only sadistic mockery: "Come in, you are safe."

The floor was littered with food wrappers, plastic soda bottles and electric cables that snaked to a metal bed frame, presumably where detainees were shocked, according to the U.S. account of the discovery during a Dec. 8-11 mission.

The rooms "had chains, a bed — an iron bed that was still connected to a battery — knives and swords that were still covered in blood," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq.

Nearby were nine mass graves containing the remains of 26 people, he said.

Villagers knew about the torture site, but did not tell authorities as they were afraid of reprisals from the militants, a local policeman told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was still afraid of being targeted by extremists.

He said he thought the chamber had been used for a year.

It was not the first such torture chamber discovered in Iraq. But it serves as a reminder of the extremist grip in parts of Iraq despite growing optimism as violence continues to fall.

And Diyala province — where the grisly discovery was made — remains one of the most volatile regions as U.S. and Iraqi forces struggle to match the clear advances against extremists made in Baghdad and the western desert of Anbar.

The province is mixed between Sunnis and Shiites — often called a "little Iraq" and a remnant of Iraq before sectarian bloodletting partitioned many parts of the country along religious lines. Diyala's capital, Baqouba, also is the self-proclaimed seat of the insurgents' caliphate.

"I think that is why al-Qaida wants that province so very much, because it is 'a little Iraq,'" Hertling said. "It gives them access to Baghdad and it also ... is considered their caliphate capital."

American commanders say they are a long way from declaring victory in Diyala.

The weapons caches found during the Muqdadiyah raids included a surface-to-air missile launcher, sniper rifles, and 130 pounds of homemade explosives, Hertling said.

"You know, there's going to be continued spectacular attacks," he said. "Are we confident we can protect it? As soon as I say, 'Yeah, we're confident,' it's going to blow tomorrow."

It was not the first apparent torture site found after U.S. forces moved into former extremist strongholds.

In March, U.S. troops discovered a similar site in the village of Karmah just west of Baghdad that was used by Sunni insurgents for torture and summary executions. They rescued two Iraqi captives, who apparently had been spared immediate execution because the militants' video camera broke and they wanted to film the killing.

The captives told U.S. soldiers they had been sentenced to death by an insurgent court and had the choice of either beheading or a fatal gunshot.

Both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia death squads regularly torture their captives before killing them — sometimes with power drills. Most of the hundreds of bodies that have turned up in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq show signs of torture.

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Originally posted by Quiero Mota
So?

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Originally posted by leonheartmm
^ ans: sum people wanna turn alqaeda into the new third reich . hence the reason for propaganda and false accusations. whenever anything bad happens{half of which we make up ourselves} its alqaeda.

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Originally posted by leonheartmm
i have dialup so thats a no no. people behead other in backwards areas. it has nothing to do with alqaeda. alqaeda is sick, truly. but so is bush and the american military as well as a lot of other forces in this godfrsaken earth. im sorry for not beleiving bull about all this crap being caused by alqaeda thugh. their backwardness has no consquence on this. al qaeda is a hoax created by the western media and bush/blair administration to try and blame a lot of things on them{most of which they themselves organise} and try and motivate their own countries and taxpayers to beleive that there is reason and justification for staying in iraq and doing the unjust things they are doing their and on home soil {illegal prisons etc} as well as the way their foreign policy seems to be working against states like iran etc. it is BULLSHIT, a simple scare tactic. the iraq war was illegal to begin with and there were no weapons of mass destruction. there is no alqaeda in iraq{except for a few insignificant splinter cells} as there is no sunni shiite civil war {nor are most of those bombings SUICIDE bombings. they are propogated by the american military.higher ups themselves to try and blame them on the two faction and fuel tensions} nor a country at war with ITSELF. the fault is america's and all other occupying coalition. but it is a convenient way to deceive a domestic audience. ofcourse, the end goal is making israel happy, smashing ideoligies opposing traditional america who were gaining strength{irrespective of whether they were right and wrong} , and gaining as much free oil from the turmoil as possible. relegious motivation for the right wing evangelists who run the republicans and have vested ideological interests in the area are just icing on the cake.

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Originally posted by Zeal Ex Nihilo
Good God, I thought it was interesting news. Of course, it's not unexpected, but BLAAARGH.